SPICE ISLAND VEGAN - a blog about veganizing Southeast Asian ethnic dishes such as Indonesian dishes I grew up with or any other....

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Sticky Rice (black and white) with Mango - the Modern Way

Black Thai Glutinous/Sticky Rice and Mango

White Thai Glutinous/Sticky Rice and Mango

I have been playing with glutinous/sticky rice (they are also called sweet rice) in my kitchen. I am using my favorite rice cooker to cook the sticky rice. I just love cooking sweet/sticky rice this way, the modern way, because traditionally, cooking sticky rice is a long process. The traditional way of cooking it is explained: here and here which involves rinsing, soaking (for 6-8 hours), and steaming for 45 minutes. That's how I used to cook them. Due to the steps involved I seldom cook them.

After acquiring the 'best in the world' rice cooker with induction cooking and Neuro Fuzzy logic that has the SWEET rice setting, the traditional cooking method is thrown out of the window. It is so EASY cooking rice: measure and rinse rice, put them in the rice cooker, add water (measure accordingly), and push button. Basically, I can have sticky rice anytime I want without the planning and soaking them before hand. If you don't have the fancy rice cooker, cooking it the traditional way is the way.

My favorite rice cooker

This kind of Thai dessert, sticky rice and mango, is popular in Thai restaurants in my area. Restaurants can charge from $5.95 to $6.95 per plate. However, you can be the judge on how cheap and easy it is to make it at home. The white sticky rice and mango is what restaurants usually serve. However, I believe that the black one is more nutritious. Therefore, I presented both kinds in this blog. I prefer the black one which is more chewy and grainy. The black rice is more of a dark purple since it is a combination of the black and white sticky rice together.

The other reason for blogging this dessert now is because Champagne/Ataulfo mango is in season. Champagne mango is my favorite kind of mango. The ingredients listed below can be found in Asian market.

Rinse the rice (mix white and black for the black sticky rice) using a bowl, each time stir in fresh water and then drain them in a colander. Do this 3-4 times.

Put drained and rinsed rice in a rice cooker. Pour water into the rice cooker just under the 2 line (for black rice pour in more water on the 2 line).

Add salt, pandan leaves or extract, and coconut oil.

Set it on the SWEET setting, push the Cooking button.

Rice should be ready in 25 minutes.

Cooking Coconut Milk Sauce:

Put coconut milk, sugar, salt, and pandan leaves or extract in a small heavy pan, stir to mix.

Mix tapioca flour and water in a small bowl. Then, mix it into the coconut milk mixture.

Cook on a medium low heat and continuously stirring for about 5 minutes or until the sauce coat the spoon and sauce is thickening. The mixture will start to boil but not hard boiled. Take it off heat and let it cool. Note: Do not allow sauce to boil on stove because the coconut milk will break.

Cooking Mung Bean topping:

Drain split mung beans on a colander and pat dry with a paper towel.

Heat a cast iron or non-stick pan on a medium heat stove.

Add 1/2 tsp oil.

Toast mung beans in oil until crispy and brown.

Drain on top of paper towel. Set aside.

Options in assembling the rice dessert:

Once the rice is cooked and still warm, pour 1/3 to 2/3 cups of coconut milk sauce into the rice and mix. Another option is to add more sugar into the warm rice. You can sweeten it up to your liking. However, remember that the coconut milk sauce is already sweet.